Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 8:09 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 8:09 p.m.

Lafourche sheriff's deputies are tightening their belts, but not because of budget cuts.

They're losing weight.

Sheriff's Office employees have lost at least 1,131 pounds in the last two years, and that's among only 15 deputies.

“It's definitely been a morale booster,” said Sheriff's Office spokesman Brennan Matherne, who has lost more than 100 pounds.

The impetus for the weight loss came from an employee benefits fair held for deputies three years ago that included health screenings. Many deputies showed signs of high blood pressure.

“It was something for people to take stock of where they were physically and for total all around wellness,” said Capt. Jeremy Granier, director of the Lafourche Regional Training Academy.

Sheriff Craig Webre decided to lead by example, Matherne said. He joined Weight Watchers, exercised at CoCo Fitness and lost 70 pounds.

Webre had posed the question: “How can we ask our deputies to live healthier lives. ... if we're not?” Matherne said.

Two years ago, Webre put together a committee to determine where the agency was on a fitness scale to promote overall wellness. The committee met with area hospital workers to find out what health promotion programs were out there.

The committee determined fitness guidelines ought to be put in place and decided to use the Cooper test, developed by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, who introduced the concept of aerobics for benchmarking. The test is used by most of the world's militaries to determine the fitness level of its recruits.

The newly revised Cooper test for law enforcement consists of a 300-meter run, a vertical jump test, a one minute sit-up test and a one-minute push up test. It offers a results chart for each test for men or women based on age. For example, a man 30 to 39 years old who did 34 pushups in one minute performed better than 70 percent of other men in his age group.

The sheriff sent out memo a year ago announcing the new fitness standards and said evaluations would happen in a year, Granier said.

Last year, fitness assessments of sheriff's deputies were made as a benchmark.

“If you can't meet these minimum standards, you probably shouldn't have an enforcement job,” Matherne said.

Deputies who cannot meet these standards or cannot take the test due to prior injuries will be evaluated by a medical professional. If the evaluation determines deputies should not perform law enforcement duties, they will be reassigned to a more appropriate position, Granier said.

<p>Lafourche sheriff's deputies are tightening their belts, but not because of budget cuts.</p><p>They're losing weight.</p><p>Sheriff's Office employees have lost at least 1,131 pounds in the last two years, and that's among only 15 deputies.</p><p>“It's definitely been a morale booster,” said Sheriff's Office spokesman Brennan Matherne, who has lost more than 100 pounds.</p><p>The impetus for the weight loss came from an employee benefits fair held for deputies three years ago that included health screenings. Many deputies showed signs of high blood pressure.</p><p>“It was something for people to take stock of where they were physically and for total all around wellness,” said Capt. Jeremy Granier, director of the Lafourche Regional Training Academy.</p><p>Sheriff Craig Webre decided to lead by example, Matherne said. He joined Weight Watchers, exercised at CoCo Fitness and lost 70 pounds.</p><p>Webre had posed the question: “How can we ask our deputies to live healthier lives. ... if we're not?” Matherne said.</p><p>Two years ago, Webre put together a committee to determine where the agency was on a fitness scale to promote overall wellness. The committee met with area hospital workers to find out what health promotion programs were out there.</p><p>The committee determined fitness guidelines ought to be put in place and decided to use the Cooper test, developed by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, who introduced the concept of aerobics for benchmarking. The test is used by most of the world's militaries to determine the fitness level of its recruits.</p><p>The newly revised Cooper test for law enforcement consists of a 300-meter run, a vertical jump test, a one minute sit-up test and a one-minute push up test. It offers a results chart for each test for men or women based on age. For example, a man 30 to 39 years old who did 34 pushups in one minute performed better than 70 percent of other men in his age group.</p><p>The sheriff sent out memo a year ago announcing the new fitness standards and said evaluations would happen in a year, Granier said.</p><p>Last year, fitness assessments of sheriff's deputies were made as a benchmark. </p><p>“If you can't meet these minimum standards, you probably shouldn't have an enforcement job,” Matherne said.</p><p>Deputies who cannot meet these standards or cannot take the test due to prior injuries will be evaluated by a medical professional. If the evaluation determines deputies should not perform law enforcement duties, they will be reassigned to a more appropriate position, Granier said.</p><p>The first evaluations will be made in November, Granier said.</p>